So far this season, I had only seen bears on land and they were all very skinny, surviving on little more as a few eggs or some vegetation already for the last months. The bears we saw in the ice had access to seals -the good hunting season for them, with the young Ringed Seal pups, has just ended- and their condition was a lot better. It’s so much nicer to see those relatively fat bears (even though it can be a lot fatter) for a change. And really worrying to see those skinny ones already at the beginning of June…

Bears are very opportunistic and will eat anything they can get their paws on. However, here in the high Arctic the alternative food sources are very limited. Occasionally they can scavenge on a dead whale or reindeer or are able to catch a few bird eggs (during a short period of the year), but these are all no solutions on the long run for a healthy population of bears… And with the rate the change is occurring now, it will be very difficult for them to adapt in time.